All Law & Courts
Why even 鈥榯he Atlanta way鈥� faces a reckoning on policingThe arrest of former officer Garrett Rolfe on murder charges for shooting Rayshard Brooks has put Atlanta at the forefront of a wrenching debate.
First LookNearly all Americans want criminal justice reform, poll findsAfter weeks of demonstrations, Americans overwhelmingly favor significant changes to the country鈥檚 criminal justice system, according to a new poll from the The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.聽
First LookWhat a shift in public opinion means for powerful police unionsPolice unions historically have had strong political influence over local U.S. police departments. But facing protests and shifting attitudes on law enforcement, Minneapolis leaders are signaling support for legislation denounced by the city's union.
First LookTop Manhattan prosecutor leaves job after standoff with BarrAs the Trump administration moved to replace him, Geoffrey S. Berman, a powerful U.S. attorney in New York, at first resisted and then stepped down.
Cover Story鈥業t鈥檚 way past time to try something new鈥�: The push to defund policeCan today鈥檚 drive to reimagine policing address what decades of incremental reforms have failed to do?
How rule of law saved DACA, for nowThe Supreme Court, with its second major ruling this week, voted 5-4 to block the termination of the DACA program.
Violent racism: Can Floyd protests break an old cycle? (video)Cycles of racial violence, protest, and progress mark 20th- and 21st-century America. What will it take to move forward?聽
First LookHow will Floyd protests impact prosecutor-police relationships?On Wednesday, Fulton County prosecutors charged Atlanta officer Garrett Rolfe with murder for聽Rayshard Brooks' death. Amid George Floyd protests,聽"the politics of not wanting to appear to go against the police union are over," said Chicago's top prosecutor.聽
First LookSupreme Court rejects Trump's promise to end DACAIn the second big liberal victory at the Supreme Court this week,聽the court rejected President Donald Trump鈥檚 effort to end legal protections for 650,000 young immigrants. "We'll keep living our lives in the meantime," one DACA recipient said after the ruling.聽
Why Gorsuch upheld civil rights for LGBTQ AmericansMonday鈥檚 6-3 Supreme Court ruling granting workplace protections to LGBTQ Americans immediately ranks among the court鈥檚 blockbuster opinions.
First LookTrump's executive order: an alternative to 'defund the police'President Trump's executive order on policing includes financial incentives for聽departments to adopt better de-escalation techniques. Proposals for聽a national database to improve public oversight聽of police officer records has bipartisan support.聽
The Explainer鈥楧efund the police鈥�: What does it really mean? Three questions.鈥淒efund the police鈥� sounds sweeping, but it involves a lot of careful thought about what the future of聽law enforcement should look like.
First LookAfter fatal shooting, Atlanta mayor commits to police reformMayor Keisha Lance Bottoms聽vows聽to change police use-of-force policies and emphasize deescalation in training after Rayshard Brooks聽was killed by police this week. More police departments nationwide and Congress are introducing reform proposals.
As lockdown lingers, a rural reckoning with domestic violenceThe coronavirus pandemic has trapped victims of domestic violence in lockdown with their abusers. And the problem appears most acute in rural areas.
First LookSupreme Court: 1964 civil rights law protects LGBTQ workersOn Monday, the Supreme Court passed a landmark ruling that protects LGBTQ employees from job discrimination. The court also rejected several challenges to gun-control laws that sought to expand the right to bear arms.聽
First LookIce cream and barbecues: How Camden reimagined its police.Could Camden, New Jersey, be an example for how to change the culture of policing in America? After the police department was disbanded and started anew, crime rates fell, complaints of excessive force dropped, and the state prison was replaced with a park.聽
First LookWhy Atlanta moved quickly after weekend police shootingAtlanta Police Chief Erika Shields resigned, a white cop was fired, and police video was released Sunday after the shooting of Rayshard Brooks.
How support for Black Lives Matter has surged, in one chartSome 28% more Americans support the Black Lives Matter movement than disapprove 鈥� a major shift since 2017, accelerated by the George Floyd protests.
Will Minneapolis become the Selma of the North?George Floyd鈥檚 death ignited outrage and protests in Minneapolis that spread across the country. Will the U.S. change as a result?
鈥楽ay Their Names鈥�: Why the George Floyd protests resonate globallyProtesters around the world are reacting to the killing of George Floyd by demanding that police violence in their own countries be stopped.
